23 Tasks For Self Improvement At 23

October 19, 2017

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Yep, today I turn the ripe old age of 23 and I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to post today for a good few months. I could’ve done 23 things I’ve learnt, 23 memories, something along the lines of a bucket list, you know, the usual birthday post. But last week it came to me. There are a lot of places in my life I’m looking to improve so I’m sharing 23 tasks I’ve set myself to improve my life. It could be blog life, it could be family life or it could be social life. But there are 23 things I’d like to improve on, and since it’s my blog I’m going to share it even if you don’t care. Also, enjoy the unrelated blog pics, my setup is currently covered in Christmas presents whoops!

1 | Explore More

I’ve been writing a lot of travel inspired posts recently, and I’ve been loving it. One of my most recent goals has been to include more travel related content on my blog, and take the time to visit new places, and this is carried through to become one of my tasks at 23.

2 | Complete To Do Lists

I’m a sucker for a to do list, but I’m not so great at completing them. This means things get put off for ages and I’ve usually lost my to do list by the time I actually complete them. Now I’m 23, I feel like I’m a proper adult (like I’m at that age where my friends are having babies without it being an accident so I must be a real adult) and therefore I should manage to not lose a to do list before I tick everything off.

3 | Save Money

In case you’re not bored of me saying it, I’m hoping to go interrailing next summer which means I need to save money. I did okay in September, but with October being my birthday month I’ve had a little bit of a ‘treat yo self’ attitude. I’ve also started shopping for Jack’s birthday next month and picked up a few bits of Christmas shopping. Next week I’m back to saving though with the intention of spending it all on the experience of a life time.

4 | Say Yes More

I feel like I say no to a lot of thing, especially when it comes to local blogger events. I’m dying to get to know more bloggers locally but I miss the facebook notifications until it’s too late, and always end up passing on brunch. 23 is the year I’m going to say yes more to these events, as well as a few other more behind the scenes blogging bits and pieces.

5 | Say No More

Seems a little contradictory, but I also need to stop saying yes so much. I’m a people pleaser so don’t like saying no to people too often, but sometimes you just have to do it. And surprisingly, this also applies to my work life. I find it so difficult to say no to people at work, but it means I’m constantly racing around and exhausting myself. When things are too much, I just need to say no.

6 | Declutter

I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder, I just have a lot of stuff. Over the summer I managed to cut my DVD collection to around half of what it was, and I need to do this with all aspects of my life. Apart from maybe my clothes, I don’t own that many clothes. I did start decluttering my makeup collection but gave up after a few sections, so I definitely need to get back to that soon. In face, over the next year I want to get rid of lots of bits I don’t use anymore as at some point in the next couple of years I will probably be leaving the nest for good and I can’t take all my junk with me!

7 | Make An Effort With Family

After losing my Grandad in July, I definitely need to make the most of my time with family. I know my grandparents won’t be around forever, and I want to spend more time with them whilst I have the chance. It’ll be easier if I get a car as none of my family are local, with the closest being an hour’s drive away, but I can make as much effort as I can without that luxury.

8 | Cut People Out

Another polar opposite, but it’s high time I cut people out. If people can’t make an effort, why should I? Sure, it’s sad to lose friendships but I’m sick and tired of people the only person to keep friendships alive. It’s time to move on.

9 | Revisit My Skincare Routine

Oh wow my skincare routine has gone a little awry recently. I manage to cleanse my face in the evening and that seems to be the extent of it. A few months ago I had my skincare routine sorted, and I definitely need to get back to that. A good skincare routine defines how adult you are, right?

10 | Actually Go To The Gym

Around a month ago, I joined the gym. I had all these grand intentions, but my membership is already a bit of a waste of money. I need to actually go to the gym from now on (well, from next week onwards), and I’ll be following some of Anna’s top tips in the coming weeks!

11 | Complete A 30 Day Challenge

Sort of gym related, although definitely not necessarily, I’d love to actually complete a 30 day challenge. They say it takes around 3 weeks to form a new habit, but a month will solidify that. This is definitely a task I can get behind.

12 | Learn More About SEO

My DA isn’t improving, and the only way I can possibly think to do this is learn more about SEO. I need to read a bit more, and also put an effort in to rewrite some of my old posts. A long slog, but it’s something I’ve been putting off for long enough now!

13 | Go Back To Reading Blogs

From ages 19-21 I read so many blogs, but at 22 I hardly read anything. We complain about lack of engagement but when do we engage ourselves? One of my main aims at age 23 is to read more blogs, and share the ones I love on social media.

14 | Engage On Social Media

Leading on from going back to reading blogs, I also want to do better at being engaging. I want to reply to more tweets, leave fab comments on instagram and just be a much better all round social media user.

15 | Take More Photos

Whilst Jack gets irritated with my photo taking ways, I want to take more pictures. I’m really enjoying posting to instagram, even though my engagement is in practically in the toilet, and I want to take more photographs of places I visit. I also need to take more pictures of people, since besides a few drunken selfies, I never have photographs with my friends and family.

16 | Reach Out To Brands

A little while back, maybe around a year ago, I reached out to a lot of brands. I had a lot of work coming my way, and it made blogging easy. I constantly had things to write about, and I sort of want to get back to this. I want to connect with companies and form long-lasting relationships with them, and reaching out to brands is definitely a way to do this.

17 | Time Waste Less

This week I’ve been planning a lot more, meaning I’m not spending hours staring at a blank screen. Planning means I won’t time waste so much and that I’ll have more time to do other things that I want to do besides blogging.

18 | Take Days Off

Right now I seem to spend time on my blog every night, yet am only posting 5 days per week. By time wasting less I’d like to be able to spend time doing other things, like binge watching Netflix and putting together jigsaw puzzles. I am 23 going on 83.

19 | Keep My Inbox Clear

This is something I’ve been trying to do for months, and am constantly failing at, is keeping my inbox down. I actually have a post on how this is working for me coming next week so keep a look out for that because it could work for you too!

20 | Experiment With Food

I have so many recipes books but recently I’ve got lazy. I’m desperate to find myself back in the kitchen (something I can finally do with my days off that I’m going to give myself) and try to experiment a little more in the coming months. Yep, autumn and winter is definitely the time for playing around with food!

21 | Play Around With Fashion Blogging

I have never posted anything vaguely fashionable, mainly because I have zero dress sense. In fact, the closest I’ve come to a fashion post is this picture of me facing away from the camera. I want to be in front of the camera more, and I’m hoping that 23 is the year that I achieve this.

22 | Get A New Piercing

Perhaps not a self improvement, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. It’s been almost two and a half years since I got my daith pierced and I’m having serious withdrawal. I’m yet to decide on where I want it, but I’d love a new piercing – and it’s something that’ll make me feel a little younger. Sure, 23 isn’t old at all, but I’ll be reliving my students days if I get a new piercing.

23 | Become More Comfortable With Me

The older I’m getting, the more myself I am becoming. This year I want to continue with this spell and really working out who I am and what I want. I don’t expect to know for certain, but I want to keep improving my self-confidence this year.